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Viewpoint Autumn
- Market news
- Are premium increases on the horizon?
- Insurance and risk
- What options are left for companies caught in the credit crisis?
- Pleural plaques – a ticking time bomb for UK business?
- Is your business vulnerable to the virus?
- Sink or swim – would your business stay afloat after a flood?
- Environmental Liability - the polluter pays
- Insurance Clinic
- Insurance Clinic
Is your business vulnerable to the virus?
Just as UK businesses had begun to breathe a sigh of relief and the Government's Chief Medical Officer, Liam Donaldson, claimed we were on the verge of victory over swine flu; a second wave of the virus threatens to sweep across the country.
The World Health Organisation predicted the virus would re-emerge, maintaining that the ease with which it is transmitted means large numbers of people could still become infected. Current estimates put the number of new cases for mid-October at 53,000.
At the outset of the first wave, the Department of Health estimated that 50% of the population could become ill with pandemic flu and, while current estimates are now lower, there is still a risk of a high rate of absence through illness, especially when combined with the numbers affected by the usual bout of seasonal flu.
While companies will insure against loss of premises, loss of staff can be overlooked; even though high rates of absenteeism can be equally damaging.
In addition to a reduction in productivity, your business may suffer from loss of key skills and knowledge, increased pressure on remaining staff and the financial burden of additional recruitment and training costs for temporary staff.
So what can you do to reduce the risk to your employees and business?
Review your procedures in relation to a pandemic, with particular emphasis on hygiene, sickness and travel. Neglecting risk management could leave you open to claims from employees and/or third parties.
Hygiene
While maintaining high standards of hygiene is already important in industries where there is an increased risk of contamination; it is an area that every business should focus on. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health provide comprehensive guidance, with general workplace advice for businesses and more detailed guidance for those working in healthcare and other high risk areas.
Travel
Stay up to date with government advice and restrict business travel accordingly. For guidance on foreign travel visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office web site a www.fco.co.uk.
Business Travel policies provide cover for cancellation due to illness, however, insurers’ polices can vary. Talk to your broker to confirm what’s included in your travel insurance and any limitations and exclusions.
Ensure your business travel guidelines are regularly updated in line with Foreign Office advice and that travellers are aware of your sickness policy. You may also want to ask staff to inform you if they plan to travel to affected countries whilst on annual leave.
Sickness
The HSE advises employers to ask staff to stay at home if they have flu-like symptoms, or if they think they may have been exposed to the swine flu virus.
Communicate changes to protocols effectively to staff and make information easy to access and highly visible. It is also advisable to find out what measures your suppliers, customers, and any others you deal with, have implemented. Your customers may also appreciate an outline of the measures you have put in place to manage the risk.
Insurance
It is also important to ensure you have the right cover in place. Review your insurance portfolio including cover, limits and exclusions.
Your Business Interruption policy may include contagious diseases, but if it doesn’t, the availability and cost of cover may be prohibitive. Look at options for cover extensions or alternative covers that could provide added protection, including loss of income and/or increased cost of working.
Key Man insurance covers the business costs associated with the loss of a key employee through death or serious injury. Consider which people are fundamental to your business; in addition to directors and senior management, there may also be specialists with unique experience or knowledge.
Most businesses will have a disaster recovery plan but, in many cases, this will deal with loss of property and not absent staff, even though this can have just as significant an impact to the financial stability of your business.
Review your disaster recovery plan to ensure you have measures in place to cope with the absence of large numbers of staff. Part of this process would be to identify key dependencies and introduce skill/knowledge sharing, where practical, to reduce reliance on key people.
Ensure your key business processes and procedures are documented, up-to-date and stored so that they are centrally accessible and so they can also be accessed remotely.
Review your homeworking arrangements and IT capabilities – can people access email and your business network at home?
Barbara Ball, Associate Director - Operations, concludes,
"By putting measures in place to minimise the risk of introducing or spreading the virus among staff, you’ll not only be looking after employee welfare, you’ll also be protecting your business from damaging costs, tarnished reputation and potential claims from employees, suppliers, customers and other third parties."
Contact us
For more information about this article contact Barbara Ball, Perkins Slade, 0121 698 8000.
For further information on risk management and business continuity
If you need assistance creating or reviewing your Disaster Recovery Plan please contact Julia Harrop on 0121 698 8035 or speak to your usual contact at Perkins Slade. We can provide a simple online solution for building a robust disaster recovery plan and risk management software to help you identify, prioritise and manage the key risks to your business.
For advice on swine flu
NHS
www.nhs.uk/AlertsEmergencies/Pages/Pandemicflualert.aspx
European Centre for Disease Control
www.ecdc.europa.eu/
World Health Organisation
www.who.int/csr/don/en/
Health and Safety Executive
www.hse.gov.uk/
Department of health
www.dh.gov.uk
